I don't think I'm a fan of the Coen Brothers. I haven't enjoyed a film they've made since Intolerable Cruelty. (I'm not including True Grit because it's a remake.)Folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is barely making it. He sleeps on a rotation of friends' couches, friend in this case being whoever he hasn't managed to piss off yet, and plays his guitar at low-rent bars across Greenwich Village, all the while disdaining more "commercial" ventures that might actually provide a paycheck. But seeing as it's the middle of winter and he has no coat, he forces himself to sell out long enough to help his friend Jim (Justin Timberlake) record a novelty song in order to give the money to Jim's girlfriend Jean (Carey Mulligan) to pay for an abortion. It's not that Jean doesn't want children, she just doesn't know if it's Jim's or Llewyn's and she'd rather not take the chance of it being a total fuck-up if it's the latter's. Jean's kind of a bitch but she's not wrong. Llewyn is the poster boy for poor decisions and has been apparently since the death of his partner, Mike.
The Coens have taken on Greek myth before so maybe this is their version of Greek tragedy, where you can chart the hero's downfall based on a central flaw in his character. In this way the cat that keeps showing up is probably the symbolic equivalent of the chorus, a warning to change his ways that goes completely unheeded. That's not my cup of tea, however, maybe you like that particular brew.
Oscar Isaac is excellent here as he makes what is essentially an unlikeable character at least sympathetic, plus he's a very good singer. I'm not a huge fan of folk music but the songs included were very pretty. I guess none of them are originals, however, and that's why it didn't get nominated for an Oscar except for Sound Mixing and Cinematography but that's just a guess.
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